What Should I Know When Applying For A Highly Paid Freelance Writing Job?

There are far too many freelance writing jobs out there that simply do not pay enough. There are clients paying as little as one dollar for a full, researched, 500-word article. Even if you crank out a few of these an hour, possibly at the cost of quality, you’re making less than minimum wage. Because these are contract jobs, not employee positions, minimum wage does not apply. Between this fact, outsourcing to foreign nations with a lower standard of living, and legions of newly minted writers who have no idea what their work is actually worth, thousands of writers are slaving away for pennies.

Don’t let this scare you away from becoming a content writer, however. Believe it or not, there are highly paying freelance writing jobs out there. There are many clients who understand the value of high quality conent, and are willing to pay you very well. The key is to find them.

Here’s what you should know about applying for a highly paid freelance writing job:

Quality is more important. When it comes to a lot of low-paying gigs, the clients (who are middlemen, not the end recipient of your work) don’t seem to care too much about quality. This isn’t the case with higher-paying work. However, when you take more lucrative jobs, you won’t have to churn out a high quantity of articles to get by. You can take more time to focus on a single piece, and you’ll actually have time to edit your prose to perfection. You are capable of writing well. For high-paying clients, quality matters much more than quantity.

You will never make much money from content mills. Many of the most financially successful freelance writers make their money through networking with real-world contacts. If you’re new to freelance writing, you might not have any contacts at all. However, you can seek out writing positions all over the Internet. You can look at forums designed for people who post jobs, or advertise services for hire. Look into Craigslist to find well-paying clients. Bidding sites are full of low-paying clients, many of which are essentially a content mill of sorts, but you can also find work that pays much better.

Move away from high-quantity SEO blogging. Copywriting, sales writing, and other areas are actually much more lucrative. Typical 500-word SEO blogs is a great way to get started, but the real money is in other types of content. Learn to write a great home page, landing page, or About Us page for websites. Learn to write a sales letter. Look into creating white papers for businesses. These types of content pay better than SEO-oriented blogging.